Once again, I have grievously neglected my blog. And once again, I have returned to work on it. Yes, I have been very busy painting, but the best thing about painting is that in some way it both ties up my hands and frees up my mind at the same time.

This morning as I literally watched paint dry, I recalled a song by Red House Painters titled, "Have You Forgotten." I am including a video link below so you can listen:

There is something wonderfully repetitive and soothing about the music. And the lyrics contain much to comment on as well.HAVE YOU FORGOTTENI can't let you be, cause your beauty won't allow meWrapped in white sheets,Like an angel from a bedtime storyAnd shut out what they say,'Cause your friends are fucked up anywayAnd when they come around,Somehow they feel up and you feel down.When we were kids, we hated things our parents didWe listened low to Casey Kasem's radio showThat's when friends were nice,To think of them just makes you feel niceThe smell of grass in springAnd October leaves cover everything.[Repeat: x2]Have you forgotten how to love yourself?I can't believe all the good things that you do for meSat back in a chair like a princess from a faraway placeNobody's nice, when you're older your heart turns to iceAnd shut out what they say;They're too dumb to mean it anywayWhen we were kids, we hated things our sisters didBackyard summer pools and Christmases were beautifulAnd the sentiment of coloured mirrored ornamentsAnd the open drapesLook out on frozen farmhouse landscapes[Repeat: x6]Have you forgotten how to love yourself?

Challenge 1

Read the lyrics. Make a list of things you like about the writing. Make a list of things you dislike.

Challenge 2

The songs asks repeatedly, "Have you forgotten how to love yourself? Make a list of things you love about yourself.

Challenge 3

Look at the abstract painting below. (It is one I found on Pinterest and was not able to determine the name of the artist.) Discuss what you like and dislike about the painting. Then make some observations about the painting with qualifying them as positive or negative.

Consider this by Jackson Pollock: "Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't mean it as a compliment, but it was." What is your reaction to this statement?

And a Poem...

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN AT THE END OF A SLEEPby Cheryl Hicks

you seem to think you are as beautiful as the sun filtering slanted through the treesthat you distract me like those beams and drive me headlong without regard into traffic coming on

last Saturday I cleaned the kitchen drawersspent the drizzly morning bent on trying to rememberinto which clattery pullout I had stashed my dreams

if I seem to be invulnerable,you are sorely misinformed

In Closing

"Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself."--Truman Capote